Meet the iWave Telematics Control Unit with 4G, WiFi and Bluetooth

The concept of “a connected car” is no longer a figment of the imagination of movie producers but an everyday reality. Different communication protocols along with data from different sensors are being leveraged across the automotive industry to provide advanced features/services like usage-based insurance to users while monitoring different parameters that indicate the health of the car to ensure safety.

There are different approaches/levels to data collection, processing, and automation across the industry. While its factory fitted in-built for some cars, others support add-on systems that are currently regarded as the best route for flexibility. iWave Systems, the company behind the Linux based OBD-II Dongle has been at the forefront of developing telematics solutions for cars for a while, pushing the boundaries of standards across the industry. In line with this, they recently announced a new telematic controller unit.

The new TCU comes equipped with 4G, Wi-Fi and BLE communication features that help build a connected network within the vehicle while collecting exhaustive data from its electronic systems and the CAN network in a manner that enables real-time analytics.

Aimed at applications like fleet management, light-duty vehicle monitoring, user-based insurance, and many more, the new TCU features a 792MHz ARM Cortex A7 processors which provides an opportunity for real-time Edge Analytics based applications.

Some highlight features of the TCU include:

• Certified with CE/FCC
• Supports latest CAN FD, HS CAN, LS CAN, Ethernet CAN
• Linux 4.1.15 based platform for generic applications
• Secure FOTA support
• J1962 compliant OBD II Protocol (ISO 15765-4 CAN)
• High accuracy GNSS receiver with AGPS support
• Battery for Anti-theft Alarm
• Multi-cloud support

Designed to withstand the rugged nature of the in-car environment, the TCU has tolerance for extreme operating conditions and will perform fine in a temperature environment between -40°C to +85°C (Excluding Battery).

Some more technical specs for the device are provided below:

• Arm® Cortex®-A7 based CPU @ 792MHz
• DDR3L SDRAM – 256MB
• eMMC Flash – 4GB
•  Connectivity
  • 4G LTE
  • 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi Module with Antenna with WPA2 feature
  • Bluetooth 5.0
•  Positioning
  • GPS Receiver with Antenna
•  Sensors
  • 3 Axis Accelerometer
  • 3 Axis Gyroscope
  • 3 Axis Magnetometer*
• OBD Features & Protocols
  • 12V Power Input from TCU Port
  • USB 2.0 device
  • HS CAN x 1 Port support
  • LS CAN x 1 Port support*
  • CAN FD x 1 Port support*
  • GPIO’s x 4 (2 Digital IN, 2 Digital OUT)
  • Mic
  • Status LED (Configurable) x 1
  • Micro SIM/Nano SIM*/e-SIM*
  • ISO 15765-4 CAN protocol support in TCU Port
•  Temperature
  • -40°C to +85°C (Excluding Battery)
    (i) The battery when discharging: -20°C to +60°C
    (ii) The battery when charging: 0°C to 45°C
• Form factor
  • 106 X 87 X 28.5 mm (approximate)

For software, the device is capable of sending GPS, Accelerometer, and CAN data to the cloud over 4G through MQTT thus, the device is compatible with most device cloud platforms.

No price information is provided on the product page, but iWave typically sells within a B2B arrangement and you may need to reach out to them to get the actual price for the device.

More information on the specifications and features of the device can be found on the product page on iWave’s website.

Please follow and like us: